Combat Excellence-Always on Mission

February 2015

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I want to share with you our 2015 priorities. With all the commotion that happened recently (visits by the POTUS, the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, and the Director of the Air Na-tional Guard), we’ve had a lot of distractions—all of them good.

I wish to re-address all of our priorities for 2015. This month I will start with priority num-ber one: we must continue to prepare for A-10 operations and combat support operations. We must continue to maintain safe in-flight disci-pline, safe flight line discipline, and safe events in all other support areas.

The best way to put our best foot forward for any future mission is to do our absolute best in the current mission that we are responsible for today.

WING COMMANDERCol. Sherrie McCandless

PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICERLt. Col. Gary A. Daniel

PUBLIC AFFAIRS NCOICMaster Sgt. Becky Vanshur

PUBLIC AFFAIRS STAFFTech. Sgt. Sarah PokorneyTech. Sgt. Joshua AlmarasSenior Airman Cassie MorlockAirman 1st Class Skyla Child

This months cover photo was taken by Tech. Sgt. Sarah Pokorney during the Outstanding Airmen of the Year Banquet, Jan. 3, 2015. Base public affairs provides historical photography services for this an-nual event. Great shot Tech. Sgt. Pokorney.

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CLICK ON THE PHOTO ABOVE TO WATCH THE TOP 5 FOCUS AREAS VIDEO

NEW IN THE BEACON THIS MONTH

WARRIOR OF THE MONTH

FROM THE DESK O F T H E W I N G COMMANDERCOL. SHERRIE MCCANDLESS

Each month in 2015, Col. McCandless and Chief Ladley will be selecting a member of the 124th FighterWing as the Warrior of the Month. The selec-tion criteria is very simple – the Airman that best embodies our wing vision and mission statement will be selected.

VISION: Combat Excellence - Nothing Less. Every Airman a mission-ready, accountable, innovative, leader.

MISSION: Always on Mission - Providing world-class warfight-ers for the nation and guardians for our state

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4 Outstanding Airman of the year BanquetThe annual OAY Banquet honors Airmen for their achievments.

6 humble heroAirman recognized for service before self.

8 hail to the chiefPOTUS VISITS GOWEN FIELD

10 WARRIOR OF THE MONTHTECH. SGT. BEN O’NEAL, TRADITIONAL GUARDSMAN AND REGIONAL OPERATIONS MANAGER

12 EVENTSEVENTS OF INTEREST

idaho.ang.mil@gmail.com

www.idaho.ang.af.mil

bit.ly/124Beacon

fb.me/124FWofficial

Flic.kr/ps/2tB3kf

www.twitter.com/124FighterWing

www.instagram.com/124FighterWing

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C O N T E N T SCombat Excellence Always on Mission

T h e B e a c o n | F e b u r a r y 2 0 1 5 T h e B e a c o n | F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 5

“Who’s got it better than we do?” Air National Guard Command

Chief Mitchell O. Brush asked during his keynote address at the 2015 Idaho ANG Outstanding Airman of the Year banquet audience.

“Nobody!” Was their high-decibel of a response

in unison. Brush related how both NFL

coaches Jim and John Harbaugh would often get this question from their dad when they were growing up. Jim Harbaugh used it during pre-game

preparation while coaching the San Francisco 49ers.

“Do it because you like it, do it because you love it—not because you have to,” he said.

He thanked Guard family members present for “amazing support, dedica-tion, and commitment to allow us to come to work every day.”

Brig. Gen. Michael Nolan, Idaho National State Command Chief Carlo Fenicottero, and Idaho ANG Command Chief Harold J. Bongiovi joined Brush in recognizing the pre-vious year’s most outstanding airman

in five categories. Staff Sgt. Nicholas Jenson of the

124th Maintenance Squadron was awarded Honor Guard member of the Year. Master Sgt. Paul Hardy won First Sergeant of the Year honors. The Outstanding Airmen committee awarded Senior Airman Dorothy Hale, 124th Medical Group, Senior Airman of the Year. They awarded Tech. Sgt. Mathew Quinlan, 124 Security Forces Squadron, NOC of the Year, and they named Master Sgt. Jose Dela Rosa, 266th Range Squadron as Senior NCO of the Year.

Base Honor Guard Airman of the YearStaff Sgt. Nicholas Jenson

1st Sergeant of the YearMaster Sgt. Paul Hardy

Outstanding Airman of the YearSenior Airman Dorthy Hale

Outstanding NCO of the YearTech. Sgt. Mathew Quinlan

Outstanding Senior NCO of the YearMaster Sgt. Jose Dela Rosa

by Lt. Col. Gary Daniel 124th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

photos by Tech. Sgts. Sarah Pokorney, Joshua Allmaras and Senior Airman Cassidy Morlock

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O u T S TA N D I N GA I R M E N OF THE YEAR

Combat Excellence Always on Mission

Want to see more pictures? Visit our Flickr Album by clicking the logo below

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As night began to fall, a hus-band and wife left a souvenir shop in Biloxi, Mississippi on Nov. 27, 2013. As they approached a set of stairs leading to where their car was parked, the couple saw a man lying motionless in front of a vehicle. Something wasn’t right and they ran to the man’s side.

“What I saw was disturbing,” said Tech. Sgt. Sean F. Bryson, a Radio Frequency Technician with the 124th Communications Flight here. “He was purple. It was scary, but my adrenaline went through the roof.”

The training Bryson received kicked in. He began to check his symptoms and he wasn’t breath-ing.

“I performed CPR and he be-gan to breathe again.”

Bryson’s wife, Krista, called 911. She relayed information from the emergency responders to Bryson while he performed CPR.

Once the heavier-set man be-gan to breathe again, Bryson rolled him to his side.

“Our whole job is to prolong somebody’s life with basic life-saving skills and get them stable enough until the paramedics come and take over,” said Bryson.

The paramedics were on their way, but poor directions caused

them to pass the souvenir shop. “The fire truck screamed past,”

said Bryson. “We were able to flag them down and get them in there. They provided the neces-sary care from there on out.”

Even though this was a scary event, Bryson says he will never forget it.

“The most humbling part about the event was when the paramedics came up to me and said without the care we provid-ed, there is no question this man would have passed away,” said Bryson.

Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter presented The Idaho Cross to Bryson at the Idaho State Cap-itol, Jan. 13. It was another expe-rience to remember.

“There are a lot of people in the Guard that do extraordinary things,” said Bryson. “I got se-lected for something I did. It was in their eyes extraordinary.”

Bryson summed up the whole event as “humbling.”

by Tech. Sgt. Joshua C. Allmaras124th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

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H u M B L EH E R O IDAHO AIRMAN RECEIVES IDAHO CROSS

Combat Excellence Always on Mission

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GOWEN FIELD, BOISE, IDAHO--The Idaho Air National Guard hosted President Barack Obama, here on Jan. 21. The president de-planed from Air Force One and met with several members and family of the Idaho Air National Guard on the tarmac before travel-ing via motorcade to nearby Boise State University. The brief presi-dential afternoon visit concluded when his motorcade returned him and a group of traveling press and staffers to the presidential aircraft for departure from Boise Air Ter-minal. Air National Guard photos by Lt. Col. Gary A. Daniel, Senior Master Sgt. Mark Page and Tech. Sgt. Joshua C. Allmaras.

H A I L T O T H EC H I E F PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA VISITS GOWEN

Want to see more pictures? Visit our Flickr Album by clicking the logo below

Combat Excellence Always on Mission

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“What you put into the guard, is what you get out of it.” -TSgt O’Neal

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W A R R I O R O F T H E M O N T H TECH. SGT. BEN O’NEAL

Unit-124th Security Forces Squadron

Job Title-Combat Arms Instructor and Security Forces Craftsman

Years of Service-12+

Civilian Employer-Interstate Electric Supply

Job Title-District Operations Manager

Years with Interstate-13

Favorite Food-Steak and potatoes

Hobbies-Reliving his glory days playing softball and coaching his son’s flag football team

Why he feels he was nominated- “As a traditional in the Guard for 12 years, I have been able to balance both my civilian and mil-itary job. I try to help the younger members in the shop out. I don’t know everything, but what I do know I try to teach others. We are all one team and trying to get the mission accomplished.”

Why he won-O’Neal played a major role in the preperation and implementation of time critical combat arms training and main-tenance courses during Jan., in direct support of 124th Fighter Wing personnel preparing for a short-notice deployment. During a three week period. O’Neal trained 100 Airmen in 10 CATM courses on the M4 and 30 on the M9. This ensured that all deploy-ing members of the 124th Fighter Wing honed essential warf-ighter skills required to perform their mission.

Combat Excellence Always on Mission